Background

The film was shot primarily at two refugee camps in Western Afghanistan, one called Makaki in a territory controlled by the Northern Alliance.The rest of the film was shot at another camp called Maslakh, in the city of Herat. The camps are makeshift and conditions are inhumane, making them ill-suited for families whose lives have been torn apart by war. Through interviews with peasants, soldiers, children, and the elderly, Majidi finds the human spirit intact, and still in need of joy and memories and dreams.